1 Samuel 31

1 Now the Philistines [people from the region of Philistia] fought [engaged in battle, to consume] against Israel [the descendants of Jacob], and the men [individuals, males] of Israel fled [quickly left, escaped] before them, and many fell [were defeated] slain [killed, profaned] on Mount [a high land, hill] Gilboa [a swollen heap, a mountain in Palestine]. word study 2 The Philistines [pursuers, aggressors] followed hard [closely, relentlessly] after Saul [Shaul, the desired one] and his sons [descendants, heirs], and they killed [struck down, slew] Saul’s sons [offspring, children] Jonathan [Jehonathan, God has given], Abinadab [my father is noble], and Malchishua [my king is wealth, Malchi-shua]. word study 3 When the battle intensified [went sore] against Saul [the desired one, King of Israel], the archers [men with bows, skilled marksmen] overtook him and wounded him [severely, critically, with many arrows] [to the point of great distress, exceedingly] critically. word study 4 Then Saul [the king of Israel, Shaul] said to his armor-bearer [the one who carried his weapons, the servant who lifted his utensils], “Draw [to pull out, to unsheathe] your sword [a cutting instrument, the instrument of war] and run it through me, or these uncircumcised [heathen, those who do not know God] men will come and run me through [to pierce, to stab] and torture [to abuse, to revile] me!” But his armor-bearer [the one who bore his arms, the servant who carried his utensils] was terrified [exceedingly afraid, filled with fear] and refused [would not, was unwilling] to do it. So Saul [the king, the one who was desired] took his own sword [the instrument of his own demise, his own cutting instrument] and fell [to come down, to collapse] on it. word study 5 When his armor-bearer [servant, carrier of his weapons] saw [perceived, looked upon] that Saul [Shaul, the desired one] was dead [had died, met his end], he too [also, likewise] fell [threw himself, came down] on his own sword [cutting instrument, tool for battle] and died [passed away, met his death] with him [together, in his company]. word study 6 So Saul [the desired one, Shaul], his three [thrice, a complete set] sons, his armor-bearer [the one who lifts his weapons, servant], and all [everything, every person] his men died [to die, as a punishment] together [united, in unity] that same day [the very day, on that specific day]. word study 7 When the Israelites [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] along the valley [a lowland area, the Jezreel Valley] and those on the other side [beyond, across] of the Jordan [the river that flows from Lebanon to the Dead Sea] saw [perceived, became aware] that the army of Israel [the people of God, the Israelite forces] had fled [run away, escaped] and that Saul [Shaul, the desired one, the king] and his sons [his male descendants, his children] had died [passed away, met their end], they abandoned [forsaken, left behind] their cities [towns, settlements] and ran away [fled, escaped]. So the Philistines [the inhabitants of Philistia, a neighboring nation] came [approached, entered] and occupied [dwelt, took possession of] their cities [towns, settlements]. word study 8 The next day [on the morrow, following], when the Philistines [people from Philistia, immigrants] came to strip [remove, plunder] the dead [slain, fallen], they found [discovered, attained] Saul [Shaul, desired] and his three [thrree, thrice] sons [descendants, children] fallen [to fall, defeated] on Mount [hill] Gilboa [swollen heap, a significant location]. word study 9 They cut off [severed, removed] Saul’s head [the topmost part of the body], stripped off [removed, took away] his armor [weapons, protective gear], and sent [dispatched, commissioned] messengers throughout the land [country, territory] of the Philistines [immigrants, non-Israelites] to proclaim [publish, announce] the news [tidings, report] in the temples [houses, places] of their idols [false gods, images] and among [to, with] their people [nation, community]. word study 10 They put his armor [weapons, utensils] in the temple [house] of the Ashtoreths [Sidonian deity, star goddess] and hung [fastened, nailed] his body [corpse, physical form] on the wall [barrier, protection] of Beth-shan [house of ease, city]. word study 11 When the people [inhabitants, dwellers] of Jabesh-gilead [a town in Gilead, a mountainous region] heard [listened, gave attention to] what the Philistines [a group of non-Hebrew people, immigrants] had done [made, acted] to Saul [Shaul, the desired one, a Benjamite king], word study 12 all their men [valiant warriors, strong and brave] of valor [strength, might, or power] set out, journeyed [traveled, walked] all night [the time of darkness, adversity], and retrieved [took, got] the bodies [corpses, physical remains] of Saul [Shaul, the desired one] and his sons [descendants, children] from the wall [a barrier, a means of protection] of Beth-shan [the house of ease, a place of rest]. When they arrived [came, entered] at Jabesh [a town, a city], they burned [set on fire, kindled flames] the bodies [corpses, physical remains] there [in that place, at that location]. word study 13 Then they took [received, got] their bones [the substance or essence of their bodies] and buried [interred, laid to rest] them under [beneath, below] the tamarisk [a type of tree, often found in groves] tree in Jabesh [a town in the territory of Gilead], and they fasted [abstained from food, devoted themselves to prayer] seven days. word study